2008's Group of Films Is Dark But Ultimately Uplifting

After watching so many movies in 2007, I lost a bit of momentum in 2008, but I've still seen more than 20 of last year's movies and was pretty impressed with most of what I saw. I was disappointed at having to wait until 2009 for the sixth Harry Potter installment, but the return to Narnia and further Pixar and Indiana Jones adventures helped make up for it.

Prince Caspian - One of my most-anticipated moves of the year, this second Chronicle of Narnia transports the Pevensie children to a point more than a thousand years removed from the moment of their departure from Narnia. Their kingdom is in ruins, and few remain who believe the old stories. One of the skeptics is Trumpkin, the dwarf who serves as their guide in this semi-familiar landscape. While I have issues with some of the changes made to plot and character - particular Peter and Caspian - and wish Aslan had been more central, Peter Dinklage's performance as Trumpkin is magnificent, and the cinematography is spectacular.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Indy rides again! Despite being forever traumatized by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, I was looking forward to the chance to see Harrison Ford don the fedora on the big screen, and it sure was fun to whoop and holler along with the opening night crowd as he wriggled out of all sorts of life-threatening situations, scarcely any less spry than he was in the '80s. While it would have been neat if Sean Connery had agreed to reprise his role as Indy's dad, Shia LeBoeuf made a great sidekick. On a shelf in my room, I still have a couple of commemorative Dr Pepper cans with scenes from the movie staring out at me, and they always make me smile. If Harrison wanted to come back for one more, I wouldn't complain.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - I've been a fan of Frances McDormand since Almost Famous, and Amy Adams has won me over immediately in every film role I've seen her in since Catch Me If You Can, so when I saw that the two were starring together in a period dramedy about a frumpy English nanny who finds herself in the employ of an elegant American actress, I was immediately intrigued. Throw in the adorable Lee Pace from Pushing Daisies and a glowing recommendation from a friend who tends to be ruthless in his film criticism, and it all adds up to a movie for which I had huge expectations. Happily, this utterly charming film fulfilled them all. Definitely one of the best of the year.

Penelope - This fun, visually appealing modern-day fairy tale boasts a terrific cast that includes Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Reese Witherspoon and Peter Dinklage. Some of it is a bit over-the-top, but on the whole, this tale of a girl with the snout of a pig hits the right notes, particularly as a family film. Its message about the importance of education and independence is a good one, and even the characters who start out antagonistic end up sympathetic.

Secret Life of Bees - Dakota Fanning, on the verge of no longer being a child actress, portrays a young teen desperate to get away from her borderline abusive father and learn something about the mother she accidentally killed years before. With her is a feisty black housekeeper played by Jennifer Hudson. Before long, they come to stay at a home run by three black sisters, from whom the runaway learns a lot about life, love, prejudice and what home ought to feel like. A sweet romance and a powerful performance by Sophie Okonedo and the anchoring serenity of Queen Latifah help make this coming-of-age story a great movie.

Swing Vote - The election was on everybody's mind in 2008, so this was a very timely movie. Kevin Costner stars as a hapless guy who is more or less being raised by his precocious pre-teen daughter, played by Madeline Carroll. I was excited to see her, as she previously played Annie, Ben Linus's childhood best friend on LOST, and I found her pretty likable, albeit a tad self-righteous, in this role. The movie is far-fetched, as it revolves around the idea that due to a voting glitch, the next President of the United States will be determined by this everyman, but it's an interesting concept. While the two candidates and their advisors do their best to win him over, he eventually comes to appreciate what an important task he has. Fun performances, especially by Kelsey Grammer and Stanley Tucci, make this thought-provoking family film even more likable.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl - Speaking of Tucci, he has a supporting role in this movie as well, along with several other big names, including Joan Cusack and the always-hilarious Wallace Shawn. Abigail Breslin plays the intrepid would-be reporter who seeks a great story to sell to the newspaper. This Depression-era story feels very timely, with enough excitement and plenty of colorful characters to keep children engaged. This was the first American Girl movie to make it to the big screen, and it feels like the sort of wholesome flick that belongs on The Wonderful World of Disney. A winner all around.

Doubt - This quietly unsettling movie is anchored by three powerful performances, with a fourth that packs an incredible whallop despite the actress's short time on screen. Amy Adams is the naive young nun who thinks she may have seen something fishy; Philip Seymour Hoffman is the forward-thinking priest who stands accused. Both are compelling, but most riveting of all is Meryl Streep as the school's formidable principal, a sister who has long suspected the priest of wrongdoing and is determined to bring him down. By the end of the movie, there's still no clear statement of exactly what happened, and viewers are left to contemplate for themselves which person's testimony is the most gripping.

WALL-E - Pixar just keeps cranking out amazing movies, so it's become pretty much guaranteed that each new year will bring a fantastic new computer-animated film, probably during the summer. I'd been looking forward to this one in particular for quite some time, as my brother had shown me a preview the previous year. Given my love of Short Circuit, I immediately took to the little roving robot with the enormous eyes. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I went into this one opening night, as the robot of the title was practically the only character I'd seen mentioned. Would there be any humans? How many other robots would we meet? By the time people did show up, I was startled. The second portion of the film is more action-oriented, providing most of the plot momentum for the movie. But the beginning is absolutely gorgeous and devastating at the same time, a slice of near-silent film in which one stoic little piece of machinery collects bits of beauty in a discarded world. It's a darn shame this didn't score a Best Picture nomination.

In Bruges - It's fairly uncommon for me to list R-rated movies among my favorites - and this one earns its rating more than most - but I couldn't help being amused and profoundly moved by this movie about a pair of hit-men taking a very strange holiday together in Belgium. Brendan Gleeson is the gleeful mentor, Colin Farrell the brooding apprentice, Ralph Fiennes the harsh boss who doesn't turn up until late in the movie. There are scenes of explosive violence, and scarcely a sentence goes by without profanity, yet I think the movie's screenplay nomination was well-deserved, and it has stuck with me more than most of the movies I've seen in the past year.

Interestingly, most of my favorite movies of 2008 had a dark element, but most also left me feeling very positive about the resilience of the human spirit. In times of adversity, that's a very encouraging message to find in the theater.

An Everyman Strives to Make the Country - and Himself - Better in Swing Vote

This past week found me glued to the television two nights in a row for a pair of long-anticipated events: the Inauguration of Barack Obama and the season five premiere of LOST. A couple days later, I found myself watching a movie with relevance to both: Swing Vote, a feel-good satire about our nation's political process.

Okay, so it's mostly relevant to the ushering in of a new president, as the whole movie is about an extraordinarily close presidential election whose outcome is to be determined by a single man, an immature, beer-swilling single dad in New Mexico named Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner). The particulars of how this duty is bestowed upon him stretch believability, but this is a movie designed to lampoon the circus that is campaigning, so realism isn't a terribly important consideration.

There's enough truth within it to strike a chord with those weary of the endless games politicians seem to play in hopes of winning that coveted vote. In this film, the contenders are Republican incumbent Andrew Boone (Kelsey Grammer), an ultra-conservative fellow who finds common ground with Bud in such earthy activities as football and Nascar, and Democratic hopeful Donald Greenleaf (Dennis Hopper), who appeals to Bud's love of fishing and his fondness for Willie Nelson. I appreciate that writer-director Joshua Michael Stern depicts both candidates as honorable and capable, albeit with very particular prejudices on certain matters. With only one man to impress, both parties throw all of their effort behind attempts to appease him, egged on by their unethical advisors, played by a sibilant Stanley Tucci and pushy Nathan Lane. Meanwhile, Bud becomes a media darling, an instant celebrity on whom the hopes of the country are pinned.

The LOST connection comes in the form of Madeline Carroll, the young actress who plays Bud's daughter Molly. It only took me a moment to realize why I recognized her; though her total onscreen time probably amounted to less than fifteen minutes, she made a big impression on me as Annie, childhood sweetheart of the perpetually perplexing Ben Linus, in season three's The Man Behind the Curtain. I've been itching for the return of her character on the show and expect it will happen at some point, though not necessarily with Carroll in the role; hence, I was pretty tickled to see her here.

Inevitably, I had to draw a few LOST comparisons. We don't know much about Annie's parentage, other than that she must have at least one parent who works for the Dharma Initiative. But Molly's relationship with her father has parallels with Ben's - not, happily, in his level of affection toward her, which is undeniable, but in the way that she has to look after him, particularly after he has been drinking. Bud is clueless but not abusive, but Molly's best friend isn't so lucky, and the isolated children find solace in each other, particularly during a swing set scene that reminds me not only of Ben and Annie but also of a certain shadowy Hogwarts professor and his long-lost love.

Molly really is the heart of the film, a middle schooler with big ambitions who's tired of feeling as though she is raising her dad instead of the other way around. At times, she's an insufferable know-it-all, as only a clever preteen girl can be, but for the most part, she is likable, and it's heartwarming to see how Bud's awareness of the importance of his decision develops because of his daughter. The movie is less snarky and more warm-hearted than I expected, and the great cast helps make the outlandish situation easier to swallow. With this last election still fresh in everyone's minds, Swing Vote is a funny and timely film.